Welcome to the In/Visible Theatre blog
In/Visible Theatre is in Boone, NC. I mention that first because as a theatre artist, I understand the power of beginnings, just as you’ll recognize our location as important because of its mention early in this first paragraph of this first entry of our first blog.
In/Visible Theatre is in Boone, NC.
We’ve noticed that when we go to theatre companies’ websites, we often have a hard time figuring out where the group is located. If we scroll and scan we can find the town name somewhere, but rarely is the location mentioned prominently. And the omission of this bit of information is often indicative of the producing philosophy of the theatre.
We have lived in New York. We’ve lived in California, New Mexico, Ohio, and lots of other places. But we now live in Boone because we love Boone, and because this is where we want to make art. We want to hold the mirror up to all the various facets of our local population, and produce theatre that speaks specifically to people who live in and around this Appalachian town. Many American theatres produce the same plays in Oregon, Minnesota, or Georgia--often plays from NYC--but Oregon, Minnesota, and Georgia (and NYC) are geographically and culturally different. In/Visible Theatre creates art by, for, and/or about our local population, while remaining open to the complexity and dynamics of our changing community. Specificity is crucial to good art. Producing for specific local populations is also an art.
We created In/Visible Theatre because artists see the beauty of things that are overlooked. There is much in this area that is beautiful. There is much in this area that is overlooked.
Keep reading our blog to learn more about In/Visible Theatre, about wonderful Boone, and about how theatre can make a community smarter, healthier, and, well, a community. We’ll write more soon about our shows, our community projects, our people, and about how every day in Boone is “wear your flannel shirt” day. Even in June.
Karen
